In 2007/2008, vampires became a hot topic with the release of the movie adaption of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight. Adding to that craze, HBO's more... ahem... adult themed True Blood followed shortly behind, with several more shows and movies (Vampire Diaries, Teen Wolf, The Gates, Being Human, etc.) jumping on the vampire/werewolf/supernatural bandwagon. This chart, from shortoftheweek.com, shows this trend, on a larger scale: (click here).
Whether it be vampires, wizards, or animated tales, Hollywood has lost it's creativity and is resorting to tired tropes in order to make money and better capitalize on these interests. How actors and actresses are cast and paid is also connected to this trend- stars such as Robert Pattinson or Alex Skarsgard will generally make more money than other actors, if not for having to look like blood-crazed psychos, then to deal with crazed fans asking to get their necks bitten (kidding, of course). Jokes aside, the success of their respective works (Twilight, True Blood) obviously creates more demand for these actors, as well as an increase in salary and how well-known they are. They also benefit the original works- the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, and Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries series- giving them more exposure and expanding their fanbase, while simultaneously camouflaging any flaws within the series through the movies/shows.
With all that said, why do we still continue to follow these shows and movies despite their unoriginality? What does the fact that the highest-grossing films for the past few years having been unoriginal say about our society? And when will the vampire craze end?
Sources-
Sirs: "A Total 'Eclipse' of the Heart"
Sirs: "Ball gets 'Blood' Pumping"
Whether it be vampires, wizards, or animated tales, Hollywood has lost it's creativity and is resorting to tired tropes in order to make money and better capitalize on these interests. How actors and actresses are cast and paid is also connected to this trend- stars such as Robert Pattinson or Alex Skarsgard will generally make more money than other actors, if not for having to look like blood-crazed psychos, then to deal with crazed fans asking to get their necks bitten (kidding, of course). Jokes aside, the success of their respective works (Twilight, True Blood) obviously creates more demand for these actors, as well as an increase in salary and how well-known they are. They also benefit the original works- the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, and Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries series- giving them more exposure and expanding their fanbase, while simultaneously camouflaging any flaws within the series through the movies/shows.
With all that said, why do we still continue to follow these shows and movies despite their unoriginality? What does the fact that the highest-grossing films for the past few years having been unoriginal say about our society? And when will the vampire craze end?
Sources-
Sirs: "A Total 'Eclipse' of the Heart"
Sirs: "Ball gets 'Blood' Pumping"
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